This topic is interesting to me as I am doing my paper on something similar. How advertisements portray drinking to Americas youth as a fun and positive thing that has no negative consequences. In this chapter the author looks out how gender and race our portrayed in commercials with children. This just goes to show that advertisements are filled with all kinds of subliminal messages that may not even be recognized by the greater audience, especially the youth. It was a surprising how obviously prejudice many of the commercials were. In all white boys are portrayed as successful outgoing leaders. They can do anything and are in the position of authority while black boys are usually non-existent in the commercials. If they do make it into the commercial they always play a secondary role without a speaking part, in a passive part. The book mentions that the black children are cast into the roles because if they are put in aggressive roles like their white counter parts they would be seen as “pushy” or “hoodlums”. The result of these commercials with type casted characters based on their race is that kids and others of that race will start to believe in the commercials subliminal message. This means that the black children that see their equals on TV being in the background and being in the non-leader, non-authoritative position they will see that as that they cannot excel, it may lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The book also touched on how these stereotypes are the same for girls. The “ideal” girl for the average commercial is a blond hair blue eyed girl. Even in a case when there is a lead role by a black girl she is spending the whole time admiring a white dolls beautiful blonde hair. The black doll is never given a close up and is never shown as coveted as the white doll is. This is showing black girls that the ideal girl is a white girl. This is a sad message to be getting across to our youth.
Do the makers of the commercials make black boys as passive roles to avoid the stereotype of black being pushy and brash or is this done to focus on the white boys?
Are these messages more subliminal or obvious?
I believe they do make black boys passive. There would be much more of problem if they made the black kids pushy and brash. Then people would complain about that instead.
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